1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic equipment and, more particularly, to electronic equipment provided with an input device that permits operations, such as positional control in moving a cursor and scrolling a document on a screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
Relatively small electronic equipment, such as a notebook personal computer, in which an input device for moving a cursor or the like displayed on an image display section of a display unit or the like is integral with a main unit, has been extensively marketed.
In the notebook personal computer or the like, an input device comprised of a plane pad or the like is installed in the vicinity of a keyboard input device. An operator slides his or her finger on a surface of the pad to move a pointer on an image display section so as to control a moving direction or a moving amount of the cursor or the like.
Other input devices include a stick, which is provided upright in a gap among a plurality of key switches. The stick detects a distortion caused by a load applied to the stick to thereby control the moving direction and the moving amount of the cursor or the like.
By operating the plane pad or the stick or the like, the pointer on the image display unit is positioned at a scroll bar, which is located at a corner of the image display section and provides a scroll function, then a document displayed on the image display section is freely scrolled vertically or horizontally by clicking.
In the case of the plane pad type input device, however, the pad itself remains stationary, and the operator simply slides his or her finger on the surface of the pad. Hence, the operator cannot feel an operating load, making this type of input device not very satisfactory in terms of crispness or responsiveness.
In the case of the stick type input device, since it is provided upright in the gap among the plural key switches, keyboard switches surrounding the stick interfere with the stick, preventing the stick from being sufficiently inclined. Therefore, a slight distortion caused by a small tilt of the stick is detected to control the movement of the cursor or the like.
Thus, the input devices employed with the conventional electronic equipment have been unsatisfactory for users in the aspects of operational crispness or responsiveness, and ease of operation thereof has been in need of improvement.
More specifically, to scroll a document displayed on the image display section up or down or to the right or left, the pointer must be moved all the way to the scroll bar, which provides the scroll function, located at the corner on the image display section. This makes the operability of the scroll function unsatisfactory.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide electronic equipment that features satisfactory operational crispness and responsiveness to an operator, and great ease of operation.
To this end, according to the present invention, there is provided electronic equipment having: a cabinet in which a keyboard input device comprised of a plurality of key switches is installed; a cover member attached to the cabinet and which is capable of opening and closing a top of the cabinet; an image display section provided on an inner surface of the cover member facing against the keyboard input device when the cover member closes the top of the cabinet; and an input device provided on the cover member in the vicinity of the image display section, wherein the input device has a pair of operating members exposed on an inner surface and an outer surface, respectively, of the cover member, each of the pair of operating members can be independently moved within a predetermined range in a surface direction of the cover member, a moving direction and a moving amount of each of the operating members are detected, and a moving direction and a moving amount of an operation object displayed on the image display section are controlled based on the detected moving direction and the moving amount of each of the operating members.
In a preferred form of the present invention, the input device has a movable electrode provided on each of the pair of operating members, and a fixed electrode provided at a position opposing the movable electrode, wherein either the movable electrode or the fixed electrode is divided into a plurality of electrodes to form individual electrodes so as to form a plurality of capacitors between the individual electrodes and the movable electrode, thereby providing a detecting section for detecting a moving direction and a moving amount of each of the pair of operating members based on changes in capacitances of the plural capacitors caused by a movement of each of the pair of operating members.
In another preferred form of the present invention, the fixed electrodes are formed on both surfaces of a fixed member held between the pair of operating members, and each of the fixed electrode is divided into a plurality of electrodes to form the individual electrodes.
In yet another preferred form of the present invention, the pair of operating members are configured so that a movement of at least a cursor, which is an operation object displayed on the image display section, is controlled by operating one of the pair of operating members, and a scroll function for scrolling at least a document, which is the operation object displayed on the image display section, is controlled by operating the other of the pair of operating members.
In a further preferred form of the present invention, the pair of operating members is configured so that it is supported in an initial position by a reset spring in a non-operation mode, and automatically reset to the initial position after completion of an operation.